As predicted by yours truly, game two of this series resembled the third period that we saw in game one - low scoring and gritty. This wasn’t a terribly bold prediction, as it was clear that both sides were terrified of playing another game that was unpredictable to the extreme. A few things that I took away from this game and what to look for tomorrow night in game three:
Both goalies showed that they can bounce back from off nights, but I still have far more confidence in Antti Niemi than in Michael Leighton. Niemi only allowed one goal, and it was on a very tough chance – a knuckling puck through traffic. Additionally, he made far more big saves than did Leighton – especially when he closed the door on Mike Richards’ breakaway and gloved Aaron Asham’s one-timer. Leighton gave up some juicy rebounds, and had the Blackhawks positioning been a little better, this game could have been won by an even larger margin.
The Hawks’ top line of Toews, Kane, and Byfuglien was still quiet, but it inspired more fear offensively than it did in game one, in addition to holding its own defensively. The play of Jonathan Toews was notably better, as the captain was able to control the puck and create a couple of chances for himself on the offensive end. Kane got three first period shots, leading the Hawks after the first twenty minutes, but failed to register a shot on goal for the remainder of the game. In fact, it was Ben Eager who was on the ice with Toews and Byfuglien when he tallied the Hawks’ second, and game-winning, goal - a chance that was created by a nifty Byfuglien takeaway in the neutral zone. It would be truly amazing if the Blackhawks could win this series without major offensive production from Toews and Kane, and while there is still plenty of time for those guys to heat up, Chicago has proven that they can win with role-players stepping up into the spotlight.
Shifting the series back to Philadelphia will add an interesting wrinkle to the strategy behind the bench as Peter Laviolette will have the benefit of the last change for his Flyers. On the road, Laviolette showed a willingness to roll with whatever match-up Coach Joel Quenneville threw at him. This lead to unfavorable match-ups for Philadelphia throughout the first two games. Coach Q, on the other hand, has employed quick changes off faceoffs throughout the playoffs when his squad is on the road, meaning that the Flyers’ top scoring lines will likely still have to contend with the Blackhawks checkers tomorrow night.
Dan Carcillo is quickly becoming the most hated man in Chicago, and this is likely to persist as long as the Flyers trail in this series. Generally, the Blackhawks did a good job of maintaining their poise when Carcillo tried to mix things up. Until I looked at the box score this morning, I didn’t realize that Ben Eager and Chris Pronger received matching ten minute misconduct penalties at 20:00 of the third period. Meaningless as far as game two is concerned, but it should be interesting to see if any of the extracurriculars spill over to tomorrow night, when an increasingly desperate Flyers team takes to their home ice.
By every metric, game two was played very evenly, both teams dominated for stretches, and ultimately Chicago’s goal-tending was a little bit better and they were able to pull out the win – just like we expect to see in Stanley Cup hockey. Peter Laviollette is unquestionably telling his squad that to this point, Chicago has done what they are supposed to do, and haven’t done so completely convincingly. If the Flyers can come out and win game three, they have an excellent opportunity to tie the series up and seize the momentum with a win in game four. The question remains: how long can the big guns – on both sides – be held down in this series? If Chicago can steal the third game in Philly with big games from Toews and Kane, it’s all but over for the Flyers. We’ve seen them come back from a three to zero hole once; we won’t see it again.
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